From the humble sales call to the mass hysteria of a major product launch, if you expect the cash register to ring, people must believe. Believe “what” you may ask? Believe that your product or services will make you successful, popular, safe-from-harm, rich, fulfilled….the list goes on and on. The problem for marketers is how to instill such confidence. In the past, the job was significantly easier. Salesmanship was viewed as theater. The circus would come to town, and the whole town would show up. Not a lot of choices to entertain yourself back at the turn-of-the-century. Radio and television provided new soapboxes for companies to preach their gospel. But the media choices were limited, marketing was still in its infancy, and the public would willingly eat it up. My how times have changed. It was just a few years ago that Time Magazine’s Person Of The Year was “the consumer” (the cover was a mirror surface). Today, the consumer has control. And they don’t have time to stop and listen to your sales pitch. Matter of fact, they control the messaging, not you. Today’s brand has to represent the consumer’s beliefs, not yours. And that requires a whole new set of principles for marketers to get their heads wrapped around.